Don't shun Indonesia's soldiers

Don't shun Indonesia's soldiers

In its war on terrorism, the U.S. is guilty of a very serious
oversight. It needs to promptly reconsider a needless ban,
imposed by the U.S. Congress in 1999, on military-to-military
contacts between America and Indonesia.

This broad but not absolute injunction was supposed to
motivate the Indonesian military to accept civilian control and
to bring those responsible for atrocities in East Timor to
justice. There has been some progress on both these fronts,
although probably it has had little to do with the U.S. ban. Yet
there remains resistance in Congress to lifting it.

The fundamental question that needs to be asked is whether the
supposed U.S. goal of inducing the Indonesian military to become
more apolitical, professional, and disciplined will be furthered
by the absence of contact with America's professional soldiers?
Or will it be achieved more slowly, or perhaps not at all? The
answer seems obvious to us. Moreover, the U.S. is missing a
chance to win friends among moderates in the Indonesian officer
corps and to gain vital help from them in fighting terrorism in a
large, potentially unstable Asian nation.

Military influence within the government has waned and in the
long term will continue to wane. However, in the interest of
fostering national unity, President Megawati Soekarnoputri has
brought the generals into her inner circle, ensuring that they
will have a significant say in all policies.

There are some signs that both Megawati and the generals
allied to her would like to recreate some aspects of the
Soeharto-era alliance between the ruling party and the military.
However, resistance to this will likely come both from within the
ranks and from broader society. U.S. engagement of the military
could help to consolidate the reforms made so far and strengthen
the institutions needed for civilian control.

Terrorist threats are no joke. Indonesians have traditionally
practiced a moderate form of Islam, but in recent years more
radical groups like the Laskar Jihad have sprung up, receiving
support from some factions of the military. It has emerged a plot
by al-Qaeda-linked forces to attack the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta
was foiled last year, and Indonesians were involved in regional
networks which had tentacles in Malaysia, Singapore and the
Philippines.

The Megawati government hasn't been as aggressive as the U.S.
would like in monitoring these activists and arresting them when
enough evidence of their plans can be collected. Last December an
appropriations bill opened the way for the U.S. to resume a
modest amount of counter-terrorism training for Indonesians, and
the U.S. military is doing all it can to remain engaged with
Jakarta while remaining within the letter of the law. But it
shouldn't have to operate this way.

Indonesia has long been a key U.S. friend in Southeast Asia,
and despite the occasional hiccups, it has made remarkable
progress toward democracy in recent years. That the U.S. is
hampering its own efforts to promote reform and stability at
precisely the moment when it could do the most good is a serious
mistake that should be rectified quickly.

-- The Asian Wall Street Journal, Hong Kong